Recently an entrepreneur reached out to me with a question that hit home. She said she wanted to strike out on her own but the idea struck her as lonesome. She asked me, “How do you get people to believe in you, and support the work you’re doing both emotionally and financially?”

　　最近一位企业家朋友找我，她问了一个很击中要害的问题。她表示自己想有一番作为，但是她提出来的想法总是得不到别人的支持。她问我，“你怎么样才能够让别人赞同你的观点，并且无论精神上还是经济上都支持你的工作呢?”

　　That’s a good question. I know I’ve had moments where halfway through a project I felt lonesome and overwhelmed by everything I needed to bring the project to life. Just last year, I decided I wanted to write my first book but then stopped short, realizing all the things I didn’t know how to do, like finding an editor and printing and distributing copies.

　　恩，这是一个好问题。我很了解我曾经拥有过许多这样的时刻：任务完成到一半，却因为发现所有外界辅助力量都无法扶持我继续下去，让我感到孤立无援和受挫。就在去年，笔者决定撰写属于自己的第一本书，但没开始多久我就停下来了，那时我发现我有很多的事情并不了解如何去处理，比如联系出版社编辑，印刷以及出版等等。

　　This project, and others, taught me the importance of reaching out for help, both for the support and the backing that makes any project succeed.

　　这个项目，以及其他的事情，都让我深刻地了解到寻求帮助的重要性，无论是精神上的支持，还是任何能够支撑这个项目成功的后盾。

　　1.Recruit your close friends.

　　1. 召集你的好友们。

　　Overwhelmed with my book project, instead of working, I popped in one of my favorite teen movies: 10 Things I Hate About You. In it, a character can’t date a girl he likes unless her sister has a date as well. So, two of the characters, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and David Krumholtz, decide to pay someone to date the sister.

　　在被写书项目而不是工作所压倒的过程中，我偶然发现了其中一部我最喜欢的青少年电影：“我恨你的十件事”(10 Things I Hate About You)。在这部电影里，主角无法跟一个他喜欢的女孩约会，除非这个女孩的姐姐也参加了约会。所以，这两位由Joseph Gordon-Levitt和David Krumholtz所扮演的角色，决定雇用某个人与这个女孩的姐姐约会。

　　But to pay the date, they’d need money. Which leads to Krumholtz’s character’s lightbulb moment: “Yeah, well, what we need is a backer.” Joseph, then proceeds to ask what a backer is, and David responds, “Someone with money who’s stupid.”

　　但是为了支付约会的费用，他们就需要花钱。这就让Krumholtz所扮演的角色遇到了灵光一现的时刻：“啊，对了，我们需要的是一名资助人。”Joseph接着问什么是资助人，然后David就回答，“就是有钱的冤大头。”

　　This was a lightbulb moment for me, as well. The characters had it partially right. Backers are important. But you want them to be smart, not stupid, and to have a vested interest in your success. I began telling my closest friends about the project and most importantly – what I needed.

　　对于笔者来说，这也是一个灵光一现的时刻。这些角色的做法在某种程度上是对的。资助者非常重要。但是你得要求他们是聪明的，而不是愚蠢的，并能在你的成就占据一席之地。我当时就开始跟我的亲密伙伴们讨论我的计划，并且最重要的是，告诉他们，我需要的是什么。

　　While none of them had written a book themselves, that didn’t stop them from helping me. One friend recommended someone she knew who was offering editing services while others suggested printers and designers. Slowly, I gathered the resources I needed to bring the book to life.

　　即使他们之中没有人撰写过书籍，这也不阻碍他们帮助我。有一位朋友推荐了她所认识能够提供编辑帮助的朋友，而其他人则推荐出版商和版面设计师。渐渐地，我收集到了所有我需要能够让我的出书进程顺利的资源。

　　2.Find kindred spirits.

　　2. 寻找志同道合的人。

　　Of course, you can’t just depend on your friends. While it was wonderful to have their help and know they believed in me, I needed others to believe too. I wanted to the book to have a wide audience. And since I was bootstrapping the project, marketing and selling it myself, I also wanted a sponsorship to cover print costs.

　　当然，你不能单纯地依靠你的朋友。确实，能够获得朋友的支持与信任是一件感觉很棒的事情，但同时我也需要其他人的肯定。我希望我的书能够吸引更多的读者。而自从我启动了推广我的书的计划后，自产自销，我还需要在封面的印刷费用上找到赞助者。

　　I made a list of about a 100 companies that I thought would be interested, had my assistant look up their contact info, and then proceeded to send them all a short email explaining introducing Femgineer, the book, and ask if they’d be interested in offering a small sponsorship.

　　我列出了一份我认为会对我的书籍感兴趣的100家公司名单，然后请我的助手帮忙查阅他们的联系资料，然后再给他们寄送一封简短的邮件介绍Femgineer这本书，并询问他们是否对这种小型的投资感兴趣。

　　But we didn’t email them just once, we proceeded to email them a few times until we got a clear response.

　　但是我们给他们发送的邮件次数不限于一次，我们后来还陆续多次给他们撰写邮件，直到我们得到明确的答复为止。

　　Out of the 100, 15 people actually responded to one of our emails. I hopped on a call with each of those people. I started the conversation out by asking them about their company values, goals, and what caught their attention about Femgineer. Instead of just asking for the sponsorship outright, I crafted an offer, emphasizing how I could showcase them in the book, and how it would be aligned with their company’s values and goals.

　　在这100家公司中，有15家公司真正的回复了其中的一封邮件。我迫不及待逐一电话联系他们。刚开始我询问他们的公司价值观，目标，以及Femgineer吸引他们的地方。我并没有直接询问他们的资助意愿，相反，我草拟了一个计划，强调我能够如何把他们的优点在我的书里突显出来，以及如何把他们公司的价值观与目标与我的书进行联结。

　　I ended up convincing 7 companies to sponsor and help market the book to their audience. That success rested on just three factors:

　　最后，我成功说服了7家公司对我的书籍给予赞助，并协助把我的书推广给他们的读者。那么成功的关键就在这3个因素了：

　　Communicating my passion for the project.

　　表达自己对项目的激情

　　Finding alignment with companies in a position to support the book.

　　寻找与书籍价值观一致的公司的支持

　　Crafting an offer, knowing not just what I wanted but how it could help the other person.

　　拟定一份计划书，要有既满足自己的要求，也对对方带来好处的意识。

　　It’s about engaging with people and remembering: nothing great is ever done alone. Respect that, and you’ll find the right help for the right projects.

　　这关乎于与人打交道的艺术，并请记住：任何壮举都不是独自完成的。好好消化这个观点，那么你就能找到合适的人助你成就正确的事业了。

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（编辑：何莹莹）